We asked our college football reporters to select their top 10 quarterbacks for the 2024 season in a survey. In accordance with their votes, 10 points were given for first place, 9 for second, and 1 for tenth.
Four SEC quarterbacks and two who are making a comeback from injuries after missing the majority of the 2023 campaign are among our selections. Only two transfers from this offseason made our list, despite the fact that quarterbacks have been frequent users of the transfer portal in prior years. Therefore, there might be merit to the idea of continuity behind the center.
Here are our picks for the top 10 quarterbacks in college football:.
1.Carson Beck, Georgia
Stats for 2023: 3,941 yards passing, 24 touchdown passes, 6 interceptions, 117 yards of runs, 4 touchdown rushes, and 85.2 QBR
Points: 89 (five votes for first place)
In 2023, after three seasons of patient waiting, Beck finally took over Georgia’s offensive. He nearly got the Bulldogs back to the College Football Playoffs and guided them to an undefeated regular season.
He completed an astounding 72.4% of his throw attempts for 3,941 yards with 24 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in his debut season as a starter.
Following all the apprehensions around the arrival of Mike Bobo as offensive coordinator and new quarterback, Georgia finished sixth in the FBS in terms of scoring (40.1 points per game) and eleventh in terms of throwing (305.3 yards).
Beck will not have All-America tight end Brock Bowers or receiver Ladd McConkey this season. But then again, he was also without them for long periods of the previous season.
With the addition of tight end Benjamin Yurosek (Stanford) and receivers Colbie Young (Miami), Michael Jackson III (USC), and London Humphreys (Vanderbilt) via the transfer portal, Georgia is still loaded with pass catchers.
With 14 starts under his belt, Beck ought to feel even more at ease.Mark Schlabach
2. Gabriel Dillon, Oregon
30 touchdown passes, 6 interceptions, 3,660 yards passing, 12 touchdown rushes, and 87.3 QBR are the 2023 figures.
Points: 85 (three votes for first place)
One of the most unexpected offseason decisions was Gabriel’s switch from Oklahoma to Oregon, given that he was the Sooners’ 10-2 captain and had thrown for 3,660 yards and 30 touchdowns the previous season.
Only a few days after using the portal, Gabriel—who played his first three seasons of college ball at UCF—found a new home at Oregon, where he will take Bo Nix’s place.
Gabriel would love to replicate Nix’s path to success in Eugene, as Nix improved his game dramatically after moving west from Auburn. Gabriel was not the only player the Ducks brought in via the gateway, either.
In what is believed to be a developmental year behind Gabriel, Dante Moore, a former five-star prospect who had significant playing time for UCLA as a true freshman in 2023, also transferred in.
With 14,865 yards entering the season, Gabriel is No. 8 on the all-time FBS passing chart. He needs 4,353 yards to surpass Case Keenum’s record (19,217).
That would mean Gabriel would have to establish a career high, but considering that Nix passed for 4,508 yards with the Ducks the previous season, it’s very conceivable. Bonagura Kyle
3. Texas’s Quinn Ewers
3,479 yards passing, 22 touchdown passes, 6 interceptions, 75 yards rushing, 5 touchdown rushes, and 78.7 yards per reception are the 2023 stats.
Points: 71 (two votes for first place)
Before the previous season, Ewers changed both his appearance and his hairstyle, demonstrating his commitment to improving.
With 22 touchdown passes and six interceptions, he finished the season with 3,479 yards—the 15th-highest total among all FBS quarterbacks.
With the exception of two losses—a 4-point setback to Oklahoma during the regular season and a 37-31 setback to Washington in the College Football Playoff semifinal—he assisted in leading the Longhorns to a 12-2 record.
The staff added Isaiah Bond of Alabama, Matthew Golden of Houston, and Silas Bolden of Oregon State to help address the vacancies left by the departure of Texas’ top two receivers, Xavier Worthy and Aaron Mitchell, to the NFL.
This will offer the Ewers additional talent outside of the quarterback position. The Longhorns’ 2024 schedule is challenging, including games against Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, and Kentucky.
However, Ewers’s background, the talent surrounding him, and his familiarity with the offensive scheme should allow him to duplicate—if not surpass—the success he and the club enjoyed in 2023. — VanHaaren, Tom
4. Alabama’s Jalen Milroe
Stats for 2023: 2,834 yards passing, 23 touchdown passes, 6 interceptions, 531 yards rushing, 12 touchdown rushes, and 80.5 QBR
57 points
Few predicted that Milroe would rank among the top five quarterbacks in the following season when Alabama benched him after a Week 2 loss to Texas in 2023.
However, he bounced back from the loss, improving in other areas like downfield passing and leading the Tide to an SEC title and a CFP berth.
In his first two games off the bench, Milroe completed over 80% of his passes; for the season, he finished at 65.8%. In his final 10 games, he also only threw three interceptions out of 218 throw attempts.
With 2,834 throwing yards and 23 touchdown passes at the end of his first season as Alabama’s starter, Milroe demonstrated his mobility against teams like Auburn, Michigan, Kentucky, LSU, and Auburn.
The adjustment to a new coaching staff headed by coordinator Nick Sheridan and head coach Kalen DeBoer will be his next obstacle.
DeBoer made Michael Penix Jr. a record-breaking passer, and Milroe’s deep-ball ability will surely be shown by him.
Milroe will require even greater protection after absorbing 44 sacks in 2023—six of which came against Michigan in the CFP semifinal—much like Penix did at Washington.
But this autumn, he will be vying for the Heisman Trophy and other national honors if he can continue to improve upon his efficiency. Rittenberg, Adam
5. Arizona’s Noah Fifita
Stats for 2023: 2,869 yards throwing, 25 touchdown passes, 6 interceptions, -33 yards running, 0 touchdown rushes, and 83.8 yards per completion
42 points
Fifita, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound prospect from Anaheim, California, received a modest number of offers from local universities, including those from Utah State, Arizona, California, Fresno State, Hawaii, and Hawaii.
He wasn’t the kind of prospect a coach would rely on to turn a program around quickly, even if he did develop into a reliable player in the future. Nevertheless, the Wildcats found their spark the instant Fifita entered the court in place of an injured Jayden de Laura.
This came after an 8–8 start to Jedd Fisch’s time in Tucson, which was a significant improvement in and of itself since the Wildcats had lost 23 of 24 games prior to his arrival.
He came dangerously close to pulling off shocks against Washington (threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-24 loss) and USC (303 yards and five touchdowns in a 43-41 defeat), and he didn’t lose again after mid-October.
Before the season, Fifita was a relative unknown.
Despite starting just nine games, he finished with 2,869 yards and 25 touchdowns, and he ranked eighth in total QBR, ahead of players like Blake Williams of USC, Jalen Milroe of Alabama, and Jordan Travis of Florida State. Fifita and 1,400-yard receiver Tetairoa McMillan stayed at UA after Fisch moved to Washington, and together they might lead the Wildcats to a successful Big 12 debut.Connelly, Bill
6. Ol Miss Jameson Dart
3364 yards passing, 23 touchdown passes, 5 interceptions, 391 yards running, 8 touchdown rushes, and 78.5 yards per reception are the 2023 numbers.
Points total: 41
Heading into 2024, Ole Miss has high expectations, and quarterback Jaxson Dart is the main reason for this. In a 38-25 victory over Penn State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl last year, Dart wrapped up the first 11-win season in school history with an outstanding performance. He threw for 379 yards with three touchdown passes and added a running score.
All in all, Dart had his best year to date, throwing for 3,364 yards, 23 touchdowns, and five interceptions. With one more year under Lane Kiffin’s direction, those figures ought to rise even more.
Now take into account who is returning with Dart: tight end Caden Prieskorn, receivers Tre Harris, and Jordan Watkins. In the Peach Bowl, Harris and Prieskorn combined for 17 catches for 270 yards.
The Rebels return quality at running back, despite Quinshon Judkins’ departure for Ohio State raising concerns about the position. But in the end, all eyes will be on Dart as he attempts to guide Ole Miss into its first-ever college football playoff. Adelson Andrea
7. Kansas’s Jarlon Daniels
2023 stats: 74 yards of runs, 0 touchdown rushes, 1 intercepted throw, 705 passing yards, 5 touchdown passes, and 82.7 QBR
34 points
All he needs to do is continue playing. Daniels has rushed for 691 yards (not including sacks) and completed 14 games with only eight interceptions while throwing for 3,336 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 691 yards of total offense.
He has excellent scrambling skills, dodging picks and sacks, and during the 2022–2023 season, he had the greatest combined total QBR of any quarterback who was returning to the field.
However, to locate that “14 complete games” sample, you must examine Kansas’ previous 29 games. Due to back problems, he missed a month of 2022 and played in just three games during the previous campaign.
Despite being a major factor in the Jayhawks’ quick starts in 2022 and 2023, he hasn’t appeared on the court since September 23 of the previous campaign.
For the player from Lawndale, California, is this the year everything finally comes together?
With 1,200-yard rusher Devin Neal and large Daniel Hishaw Jr. at his disposal, he has a dynamic trio of running backs, and his receiving corps is full of senior players. With backup Jason Bean starting the majority of the previous season, Kansas finished 9-4, and under new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, the attack has an abundance of experience. Yes, Daniel just needs to continue playing on the field. With luck, this will be the year.
8. Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders
3,230 yards passing, 27 touchdown passes, 3 interceptions, -77 yards running, 4 touchdown rushes, and 63.1 yards per reception are the 2023 stats.
33 points
In many ways, Colorado’s season-opening performance was a mirage, but not in the case of Sanders, who made a smooth transition from the FCS to the FBS.
Despite the team’s late-season struggles and a relentless beating that left him with a fractured back, he finished ninth nationally in completion percentage (69.3%), tenth in passing yards average (293.6 ypg), and fourth in interception percentage (0.7%).
Sanders’ 510 yards of throwing against TCU in his Buffs debut set a new record for the team’s single-game passing yardage.
In his last six games, he threw just one interception. He finished with 348 passing yards or more in five games and multiple touchdown passes seven times.
Especially in the first half of the season, Sanders created a lot of noise about the NFL Draft. He concluded the season with a team-high 3,230 passing yards and 27 touchdown passes, which is second most in CU history.
Having taken over playcalling in November, Pat Shurmur, the coordinator, will be his coach for the upcoming season. Ultimately, after taking 52 sacks and having pressure on 39.9% of his dropbacks, Sanders needs to contribute to limiting sacks and hits.
By 2025, if he continues to stay healthy and improve in the new league the Buffs are playing in, he ought to be among the top quarterbacks available on NFL selection boards. — Rittenberg
9. Utah’s Cameron Rising
2023 data: DNP
24 points
In September 2021, Rising was not expected to be the rescuer for Utah. Charlie Brewer, a transfer from Baylor, started for the Utes that season after Rising was not selected for the position.
But before head coach Kyle Whittingham made a move, Utah’s record against FBS opponents was dismal in the beginning.
The team dropped its first two games. And the Utes never looked back after joining Rising as their squad.
Rising led the Utes to a 9-1 record and a Pac-12 title before losing to Ohio State in a shootout at the Rose Bowl. Rising completed 77% of his throws and scored three touchdowns in the game.
In 2022, Rising guided the Utes to another Pac-12 title and a 10-3 record before losing to Penn State in the Rose Bowl. It was more of the same.
Rising finished those two seasons as a starter with an 83.6 total QBR, 13 interceptions, and 46 touchdown passes.
However, to truly understand Rising’s worth, consider what transpired in Utah’s offense after he was sidelined for the 2023 season due to a knee injury.
The Utes suffered a reduction of 85 passing yards per game and a half in their overall number of throw touchdowns, going from averaging nearly 39 points in 2022 to just 23 last year. David Hale
10. Miami’s Cameron Ward
Stats for 2023: 3,735 yards throwing, 25 touchdown passes, 7 interceptions, 144 yards of runs, 8 touchdown rushes, and 65.2 QBR
Points: Nineteen
Cam Ward of Washington State went through the portal, declared for the NFL draft (in what now seems to have been a leverage play), and ultimately decided to stay in school at Miami in what may have been the most spectacular quarterback transfer of the offseason.
Ward clearly has talent. Over the last two seasons, he has had some outstanding performances for the Cougars. Prior to that, he was an FCS discovery at Incarnate Word.
But there hasn’t always been constancy. Although he passed for 3,735 yards last season, he only completed five games without a victory in the middle of the season.
Last season, Washington State knew from the beginning that it would probably be Ward’s last in Pullman. The Cougars lacked the NIL firepower to hold him, and his departure was all but certain given the demise of the Pac-12.
For Ward, this year may make or break his chances of making the NFL. Had he remained in the draft, he would have had late-round potential; nevertheless, if he can improve his consistency, he might be regarded as a player in the top three rounds.
